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Meet West Seattle’s newest music nonprofit: Sustainable Music Northwest

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(Los Flacos presented by Sustainable Music NW, August 5. WSB photo by Jason Grotelueschen)

By Hayden Yu Andersen
Reporting for West Seattle Blog

Music is a part of Seattle’s identity as much as good coffee and bad traffic. But the community-centered, grassroots performances often associated with our neck of the woods have faded away as time has gone on. At least, that’s how West Seatte musician Kevin Nortness sees it. To solve this problem, Nortness and four other Seattle-based musicians and music educators have banded together to create Sustainable Music Northwest, Seattle’s newest music nonprofit.

(Photo courtesy Sustainable Music Northwest)

Sustainable Music Northwest is a nonprofit that performs free concerts at community gatherings and events, and local music shows. “The Seattle music community is missing something – giving music to the public that’s outside of nightclubs and concert halls,” said Nortness, who’s made his living as a performer and teacher for the better part of 20 years. Through this nonprofit work, Nortness and his fellow board members – Marc Fendel, Samantha Boshnack, Chuck Demonnin, and Adam Gross – want to redefine what a concert can be. “We’re making it about the gathering as much as it is the music,” Nortness said. “The performance and the conversations should be at equal sound levels, we want people to be able to use the music as an enhancement of the occasion.”

(Sustainable Music Northwest photo: Board member Kevin Nortness)

On August 5th, the nonprofit made its debut at a Delridge gathering for Night Out, featuring local band Los Flacos. The event was a surreal experience for Nortness, who has been working on this project for the better part of a year and a half. “I put so much time into this,” he joked, “that I didn’t realize I was slowly going broke.” Fortunately, though, his efforts have paid off, and in cooperation with the Musicians’ Association of Seattle, he’ll be receiving a stipend for his work on the nonprofit. They’ll also be working with Seattle-based consultant firm Scandiuzzi Krebs, which specializes in local community-building organizations.

With the combined support from both the Musicians’ Association and Scandiuzzi Krebs, and the collective effort of Nortness and his fellow musicians over the past year and a half, Sustainable Music Northwest is now budgeted for ten more shows in 2025.

(Sustainable Music Northwest photo: Board member Marc Fendel)

“It’s especially heartwarming to see it come together,” said Nortness, “and it’s so nice to finally be in a position to say ‘this is what we’re doing’, and we’ve gotten nothing but positive feedback.”

Now that they’re finally established, they’re going to take a breath and keep pushing forward. Nortness has his eye set on the Alki Beach promenade, Kenyon Hall, and the lobbies of West Seattle’s condos and apartments for performances. The nonprofit is also continuing to apply for grants, looking for new board members, and scoping out new locations to perform at. If you’re interested in any of those areas, Nortness says they’d love to hear from you.

“We’re trying to get the word out,” He said, “This exists, and it’s a resource. We’re essentially offering a free band for people to gather their communities together, create connections, and maintain those connections.” (The musicians, like Los Flacos on Night Out, do get paid.)

For more information about Sustainable Music Northwest, to apply to become a board member, or to book them for an event, check out their website here.

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